


Just a little fever

by princessofthieves



Series: In the World Below [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Gen, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:01:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22449841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessofthieves/pseuds/princessofthieves
Summary: Link pushed himself too much to get Farore's flame and now he deals with another, unexpected enemy: the flu.
Relationships: Groose/Link (Legend of Zelda), before a relationship, if you squint, otherwise a friendfic
Series: In the World Below [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1618357
Comments: 12
Kudos: 108





	Just a little fever

**Author's Note:**

> Little self indulgent thing because *I* am sick and *I* would like someone who takes care of me but since I don't want to infect anyone I'm in my room with fever and shivers without interacting with anyone. YEY.

After recovering Farore’s flame, Link knew something was wrong with him: his head felt heavy, his body kept shivering under the wet clothes and even if he knew he had to push forward, to find Zelda, he knew he needed a nap. 

“Master, I suggest you return to the isle of Songs as soon as possible.”

He shook his head, wet his lips and threw his bag over the shoulders once more. The divine dragon said something but he barely registered it, she still didn’t consider him fit for his role and he wished he had a voice to tell her ‘then you do it since you’re so great’. But no, he stood there in silence and watched her fly away, jumped in water once more -was it his impression or it was getting colder?- and was off. 

With damp clothes it was going to be a terrible idea to jump on his loftwing, last time he did anything so stupid he had been sick for days and he couldn’t afford such luxury, so Link proceeded on the only little road he could see. It was a relief when Fi informed him he was in the southern part of Farore woods, he was close enough to the Sealed Grounds and that meant… Granny.

She was going to let him sleep for a while, right? He could just… rest for a moment. The exhaustion of spending days running non stop was probably starting to catch up, while avoiding the Moblin had been easy, climbing the vines separating him from the temple felt like a challenge and by the time he pushed the stone door open his head was spinning.

“Master, I suggest you-” Fi’s words were lost as, after just three steps inside, his vision blurred and everything went dark.

\- - -

He woke up in the middle of a coughing fit, his lungs were on fire and Link had to gasp for air as panic settled in: where was he, again? And why did he feel like someone just stomped on him?

It took him a moment to regain awareness of his surroundings, even in his half dazed state the young man could recognize the western alcove of the temple, He moved against the pillow of leaves under his head, trying to press his forehead where it could find a colder spot.

Slowly regaining consciousness and constantly shifting under the pile of blankets that covered him to find a position where his limbs didn’t hurt like hell, he finally realized he couldn’t feel his armor, nor the rest of his clothes, he was covered in a tunic of sort but if felt too large. Did granny… change him? He felt naked without his armor.

“I think he’s awake!”

The familiar voice almost startled him. Right,  _ he  _ was there as well, fantastic, of all people who had to see him like that… at least last time he managed to isolate himself in his room until he was better. With a groan he tried to raise his head, only to find himself back against the improvised bedding under him.

“Geez, you really think you can save Zelda like that?” He rolled his closed eyes at Groose’s words and a quick tap on the floor informed him Impa was moving away from them while heavier steps also told him the man was coming closer “I had to stop working on my greatest creation to drag you here, you know? You just walked in and fell face down on the floor.”

That… probably explained why his nose hurt more than the rest of his body.

His second attempt to prop himself on his shoulders failed as his limbs refused to cooperate, Link only managed to get on his side instead… just to realize the man was merely wearing a cream colored undershirt. A frown and he lowered his gaze, pulling out the tunic he was wearing and having the confirmation that it was Groose’s. Fantastic.

“I know, pipsqueak, but your clothes are still drying up and we couldn’t really leave you on that state.”

Link’s reply was just a series of coughs as Groose sat down in front of him, legs crossed and back bent forward.

“Granny made you a medicine. Smells like Cawlin’s armpits when he’s done training in my room but you will need to drink it.”

The hero made a grimace, he never liked medicines but he wasn’t in the condition to fight back. He was still trying to take his hands out the pile of blankets that the other’s arms passed under his body and he found himself on Groose’s lap. The relief was immediate.

“Can’t drink like that so bear with this for a mome-”

The man’s sentence was cut short by a pleased moan of relaxation as, without even thinking, Link curled against him. Oh… oh, goddess, he was an idiot. Before the other could ask anything he decided to cut the embarrassment as short as possible raising his right hand to the chin and signing  _ ‘warm _ ’. He was glad in Skyloft sign language was part of the obligatory education, considering they needed it while riding on the Loftwing, because he was getting sick of having to charade his conversations with other species.

And he didn’t have the strength to do any of that.

“Oh…” A pause “Oooh, of course. Well, guess the great Groose will do you a favor and hold you for a while, then, at least until you feel better.”

He was way more grateful for that than he wanted to admit as he leaned his head against the other’s chest and felt his blankets being adjusted once more… but the bliss of warmth didn’t last long as a foul smell invaded his nostrils. Groose didn’t lie when he compared it to the smell of the other teen’s armpits.

“Here we go, chosen one.”

He made another grimace looking at the still bubbling purple liquid contained in a small cup. What the hell was that? The woman didn’t even bother to let him get ready, pinched his -still in pain- nose, forced him to open his mouth and poured the whole content in it without too many compliments.

Link whined, loudly, somehow the taste was even worse than the smell and look combined. His eyes were watering when he finally managed to swallow the awful concoction and while the other two spoke about soups and giving him some food, he kept making faces like that could help dealing with the awful aftertaste.

“Hold on, Link, we got something else for you as well.”

He opened his mouth to protest but a spoon full of something incredibly sweet filled it instead. That was… honey, wasn’t it? He tasted it once but the furious bees guarding their hive chased him away… after that horrible potion it felt like heaven. 

“More?”

Link only nodded, eyes now close, before opening his mouth. He had to be honest, even if he was feeling like a Moblin just stomped on him it wasn’t too bad being so close to a source of warmth and having the man passing his hand between his hair, probably not even thinking -an unexpectedly gentle gesture coming from Groose of all people.-

He heard them discuss about food for a moment and then Impa was off again, announcing she was going to return back with a good bowl of soup, Link didn’t know if he wanted to fear that moment or not. Him and the red haired man just waited there, Link still shivering but at least taking some relief from the warm body against him and the comfortable position.

There was no way he was going to walk until the fever was down but at least he could try to appreciate the little things that made it bearable.

“So…” Link’s ear twitched as the other started to speak “Since we’re going to spend some time together let me tell you everything about my newest invention: I called it the Groosenator.”

The little smile he didn’t even realized that was on his lips immediately disappeared. Sweet Goddess, it was going to be a long convalescence.


End file.
